The chessboard in the Middle East has just lost one of its heaviest pieces. The Iranian government confirmed on Tuesday the death of Ali Lariyani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, after a devastating bombing executed by Israeli forces in the heart of Tehran.
The news, which first circulated as a rumor following Israel’s announcement of victory, was finally ratified by the Iranian government information office and Ali Lariyani’s official account on X, where his photograph was published with the title “martyr”.
An attack that swept away the dome
🇮🇷 | Iran’s National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani:
As the United States has failed to achieve its objectives, it now finds itself struggling and floundering.
It would be better for Trump to admit that he made a mistake and was misled by Israel. pic.twitter.com/lrGPjhuuTr
– AlertaNewsPlus (@AlertaNewsPlus) March 7, 2026
The bombing did not only end Lariyani’s life.
According to reports from the Mizan news agency, his son, one of his direct deputies and several members of his security team were also killed in the attack.
Ali Lariyani (born in Iraq in 1958) was not just any civil servant; he was an intellectual with a background in Mathematics, Computer Science and Philosophy, but also a former commander of the Revolutionary Guard who presided over the Iranian Parliament for more than a decade. He was, for many analysts, the “brains” behind the country’s security.
“In the depths of hell”.
#🇮🇷 The Iranian government confirmed the death of the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Lariyani, in a bombing in Tehran.
The attack also resulted in the death of his son, a deputy and several bodyguards, following Israel’s earlier announcement. Via… pic.twitter.com/pvcACPG2XH
– Por la calle del Medio (@plcdelmedionews) March 17, 2026
The confirmation comes on the heels of inflammatory statements by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who had no qualms about celebrating the elimination of the official.
“Lariyani and the Basij commander were eliminated tonight and joined Khamenei and all the members of the axis of evil in the depths of hell,” Katz sentenced in an official statement.
The last challenge before the fall
🚨 IRAN’S #2 AND SECURITY FORCES NUMBER 2 KILLED 🚨
📌 Israel announces death of Ali Lariyani and paramilitary force chief Basij Gholamreza Soleimani, in bombings #HOY
Katz stresses that both “join Khamenei in the depths of hell” pic.twitter.com/dXr0wfBnl9– Atlus (@CLTec) March 18, 2026
Ali Lariyani’s last public appearance was just last Friday.
He was seen walking among thousands of people at a march in Tehran, an event that sought to defy external threats and show unity in the face of war.
No one imagined that, less than 72 hours later, the man considered the right-hand man of Iran’s highest authority would be the target of a direct attack in his own capital.
With the death of Ali Larijani, Iran loses its most experienced negotiator and one of the few figures capable of bringing the regime together in times of crisis, leaving a power vacuum that could trigger an unpredictable response in the region.
